Gold loses ground as equities hog the limelight

Bengaluru — Gold fell on Tuesday, retreating from a near one-month peak hit in the previous session, as equity markets regained some ground following a sharp slide driven by fears of a global slowdown, and bond yields edged up.

Spot gold was down 0.6% at $1,314.51 an ounce as of 11.02am GMT, after hitting its highest since February 28 at $1,324.33 on Monday. US gold futures were down 0.7% at $1,314 an ounce.

“We have a bit of recovery in the equity markets, risk sentiment is positive; that is a little bit of a drag on gold,” Julius Bär analyst Carsten Menke said.

Some profit-taking after prices recovered over the past few days, as well as rebounding US bond yields, were also weighing on gold, Menke added.

Calm returned to global markets as a steadier day for Europe and Asia’s bourses and a tick higher in benchmark bond yields helped ease nerves after a few days dominated by recession worries.

The 10-year US treasury yield edged up, having fallen below the yield for three-month bills on Friday for the first time since 2007, inverting the yield curve. An inversion is widely seen as indicating an economic recession.

“It is unlikely there will be a recession, but it’s very clear to us that there is a substantial slowdown occurring in the US and that growth will be markedly lower than last year,” Capital Economics analyst Ross Strachan said. “Gold will pick up and end the year at $1,400. The market sentiment will become more risk averse, and that will be a boost to gold because of the sluggish global economy we are expected to see in both the US and China.”

Gold has gained about 14% since touching more than one-and-a-half-year lows last August, on the back of a dovish US Federal Reserve and global growth concerns.

Investors are now keeping a close eye on the latest round of China-US trade negotiations, scheduled to start on Thursday in Beijing, and the next Brexit vote on Wednesday, in which law makers will pass judgment on a range of options.

Among other precious metals, palladium slipped 0.8% to $1,564.30 an ounce, after touching its lowest in about two weeks at $1,532.56 in the previous session.

Silver was down 0.5% at $15.45, while platinum dipped 0.4% to $851.79 an ounce.

Reuters